Gas-engine



(NoModeLf V 2Sheets-Sheet 1. M. M. BARRETT & J. P. DALY.

GAS ENGINE.

No 430,505. Patented'June 17, 1890" (No Model.) 0 I r 2Sheets-Sheet 2.M. M. BARRETT & J; F. DALY.

GAS "ENGINE. 7 No. 430,505. Paten-ted'June 17, 1890.

InmznTurs;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

MORA M. BARRETT AND JOHN F. DALY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GAS-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,505,'dated June 17,1890.

I Application filed November 27, 1889. Serial No. 331,781. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, MORA M. BARRETT and JOHN F. DALY, citizens of theUnited States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, andState of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gas-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The present improvements are applied to gasengines of the upright kind,and they relate to novel valve mechanism for operating theexhaust-valve, to a novel electric ignitor on an open circuit forexploding the charges of gas in the cylinder, and in connectiontherewith a current-interrupter adapted to break the circuit at everyalternate revolution of the crank-shaft.

The nature of these improvements and the manner in which we haveconstructed and applied the same for operation, with the parts andmechanism necessary to produce an operative engine, will be understoodfrom the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 represents an upright engine with our said improvements appliedto it, the cylinder, piston, and parts of the frame being shown insection. Fig. 2 is an elevation taken from the left-hand side of Fig. 1,with the head and upper part of the cylinder in section. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section at about the line w w and looking toward the head ofthe cylinder. Fig. 4 represents the parts of the electric ignitor inside view and on a larger scale. Figs. 5 and 6 are views of theValve-0peratin g cam and connected parts.

A indicates the frame of the engine, B the cylinder, and C the piston.

D is the crank-shaft, and E the piston-rod connecting the pistondirectly to the shaft.

The gas-inlet is seen at F and the exhaust at G, with valves H and Icontrolling the same.

1* is a spring on the valve-stem 1 holding the valve to its seat, and Kis a cam acting on the valve through the following parts to raise andhold it open at the time of exhaust while the cylinder is being clearedof spent gas, and to close the exhaust at the beginning of everyalternate downstroke, when a fresh charge of gas is drawn in. The cam K,fast on the crank-shaft, moves a slide-bar L, and

a rocking lever M, pivoted at M is attached at one end to the slide-bar,while the other end terminates in a curved toe M*. This part is forkedto embrace the valve-stem, and it sets directly againsta collar ortappetp on the stem, and the foot of the stem has a working fit in aguide a on the front of the bracket.

The slide-bar has bearings in the bracketpiece A on the frame above thecam, and a swiveled switch-piece L is fixed in the slide to work in thegroove of the cam. The rockingilever is attached by a slot and pin tothe lug M on the slide. These parts are so adjusted that the valve islifted and held open at every alternate upstroke of the piston but isclosed at the beginning of the succeeding do'wnstroke and is kept seatedduring the following upstroke and until after the explosion takes place.It is raised and held open during the upstroke following the explosionto clear. out the cylinder of spent gas, and is released by the cam andclosed by the spring as the piston reverses and begins its downstrcke,at .which time the inlet-valve yields to the pressure of the gas fromthe supply outside, and a fresh charge is drawn in by the downstroke ofthe piston. Both valves are closed also during the following upstroke,and the gas is compressed to a certain degree before the charge isfired. As the ignitor is required to act only at every alternateupstroke, it is thrown out of operation by interrupting the electriccurrent at such times.

S and T are the two electrodes or contactpoints of the ignitor. The partS is a iiexible yielding tongue of metal fixed at one end in aninsulated plug 8* and setting through the side of the cylinder into thespace above the piston, and the part'T is a finger or projection on ashort rock-shaft T that sets through and has movement in an insulatedbearing T in the side of the cylinder. Rocking movement is given to thisshaft by an arm U on the outer end of an eccentricrod V and an eccentricV fast on the crankshaft. close relation to the free end of the yieldingtongue. By the rocking movement of the shaft it is pressed against anddrawn over The finger T sets in line with and in nitor is found toproduce a better quality of and the subsequent separation when thefin--ger clears the tongue.

As thus constructed for operation, this igthe kind where the contact andpressure of one part against the other is from one side or in onedirection only. In connection with these parts provision is made forcutting off the current at every alternate upstroke of the piston whencontact between the two electrodes is made; but no spark is required,the object of which is to prevent Waste and economize the battery-power.The circuit from the battery to the tongue is taken through thecontact-spring Won the end of the slide-bar, and the spring W, fixed tothe bracket-piece A ,or to some convenient part of theframe in line withthe slide-bar. The conductor Y is connected by a binding-screw Z to thespring WV, and a conductor Y* makes electric connection between thespring W and the tongue S. The slide-bar makes and breaks contactbetween the two springs WV W and is suitably timed in its movements j toclose the circuit at the upstroke when the firing-spark is to beproduced. The cam and slide-bar thus operate the exhaust-valve and Theyielding tongue also recontrol the electric circuit of the ignitingdevice.

The ignitor and current-interrupter above described are made thesubject-matter of a separate application for patent filed on even datewith this application and designated by Serial No. 331,782, datedDecember 12, 1889.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1; The combination of rotating cam on the engine-shaft, slide-bar,swiveled switch-piece,

rocking lever, valve-stem, and tappet, arranged for operation as setforth.

2. An electric ignitor for gas-engines, consisting of a flexible tongueforming one eleca trode or terminal, and an oscillating finger formingthe other terminal and adapted by its movements to act with a wipingmovement against the flexible terminal first in one direction, ordownward, and then in the contrary direction.

3. The combination of the yielding tongue S, shaft T*, carrying a fingeror projection,

and mechanism giving said shaft rocking movement,-by which the finger isdrawn against and off the end of the yielding tongue 'first in onedirection and then in the contrary direction.

4. In combination with the tongue or part forming one terminal of theelectric circuit,

